Brassiere



April 27, 1954 E R, SUTTER 2,676,320

BRASSI ERE Filed Dec. 6, 1950 Patented Apr. 27, 1954 2,676,320 BRASSIREEdward R. Sutter, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Beau- T-Form Foundations,Inc.,v a corporation of Illinois Application December 6, 1950, SerialNo.' 199,459

Claims.

This invention relates generally to an improved brassire and moreparticularly to an improved cup-structure for a brassire. It has as itsprincipal object to provide a cup-structure for a brassire having ashelf support in the lower portion of the cup to give better support tothe human breast and to prevent upward slipping of the brassire acrossthe breast.

A further object of this invention is to provide a cup-structure for abrassire which conforms to the natural curvaturel of the human breastboth in the vertical and the horizontal planes.

In the ordinary known brassire it was common to provide a cone-like cuphaving a relatively liat surface formed by the lowermost portion of thecone. Such a form provided a relatively steep angle in the cup from thebody of the wearer upwardly toward the apex of the cone-like cup. Thissharp angle in the cup cone had a tendency to flatten the lower part ofthe human breast which is naturally round and to make it easy for thebrassire to slip upwardly over the breast, especially in cases where thearms of the wearer were upraised. It is therefore a more particularobject of this invention to provide a cup-structure in a brassire whicheliminates the sharp rise from the body of the wearer to the apex of thecup-cone and to substitute therefor a shelf support structure of roundedcontour and adapted to provide a cradle-like support for the humanbreast rather than to force the cup fabric upwardly against it to attenit.

A further object of this invention is to provide a brassire having apair of brassire cups joined together by an elastic fabric and having atthe iowermost portion of each cup a piece of fabric adapted to restsnugly against the chest of the wearer immediately underneath thebreast, the cups forming a naturally rounded shelf-like support for thehuman breast, the shelf forming an angle of slightly over 90 to theelastic fabric.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing'description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing,in which Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the brassire; Fig. 2 is avertical section taken through one of the brassire cups; Fig. S is aview of the inside of the brassire cup in the direction of line 3-3 ofFig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a front View of the zlower piece of fabric in thebrassire cup before and after rthe tucks are taken therein.

While this invention is susceptible of various modifications andalternative constructions, it is here shown and will hereinafter bedescribed in a preferred embodiment. vIt is not intended, however, thatthe invention necessarily be limited thereby to the specic disclosuremade, but on the contrary it is intended to cover all modications andalternative constructions falling within the spirit and scope of thisinvention as defined in the appended claims.

As shown herein for purposes of disclosure, the brassire I comprisesgenerally two cup-like structures 2 and 2', an elastic fabric 3 joiningsaid cup-like structures, a semi-arcuate like piece of fabric at thebottom of each cup andr adapted to rest snugly against the chest ofthewearer immediately beneath the cup-like structures of the brassireproper and generally designated at 4. At 5 and are the straps extendingoutwardly from each" of the cup-structures and adapted to be fastenedtogether at the back of the wearer.

The cup-like structures of this brassire being the most important partsthereof, are constructed of two separate lengths of fabric, the upperlength ii being preferably constructed of a lace-like fabric and thelower portion l thereof being constructed of some type of conformablefabric. The upper strip 6 and the lower strip 'l have their marginaledges in regir try along their full lengths and their edges are bound bymeans of a strip of bias tape ii. The lower strip 'J has its top edge 9generally curved. Its greatest width is slightly oi center asis shown inFig. 4l. The lower edge IG of strip 'i comprises a at base along aboutthe center one-half of the width thereof and at least one portion oneither side of the fiat bas-e extending upwardly toward the top edge S.This particular structure of the lowermost portion of the cup would, ifincorporated in a brassire,r result in the sharp angle fiat-type cupwhich has hereto-fore been common in the art.

In order to accomplish the objectsv of invention, the lowermost portionof the brassire cup is adapted so that when it is incorporated in thebrassire there is formed a shelf-like support I5 at the lowermostportion of the cup for the human breast. To that end the lower portionof strip l' is provided withv a plurality of inverted V-shaped tucks Ilalong the base thereof which enable production of a cradle-like shelf inthe lowermost portion of the cup. Fig. *fi of this application shows'.the lower strip i before and after taking the tuclrs` therein. 0n thestrip l in Fig. v4i are indicated the stitch lines It and fold lines Ilshowing the preferred location for the tucks which are to be takentherethis in for providing the shelf-like structure i to support ratherthan to compress the breast. lt is not necessary that the strip l beprovided with tucks to accomplish this purpose though this is preferred.It is possible that the material of each tuck, as shown in Fig. 4, couldbe removed from the strip I and the free edges drawn together and sewnor joined by a piece of ias tape. It is further not essential that thetuck be taken in the manner shown in Figs. 3 and e. It is quiteconceivable that a mere gathering of the material at one or more placesalong the lower edge l0 of strip 'l would make it possible to provide acup-like structure having a cradlelike shelf near the base thereof. Theimportant thing is that the lower edge of strip l is shortened toprovide the shelf like support l5.

This construction of the cup-like structure from material conformable tothe human body and adapted to closely overlie the human breast, makes itpossible to provide a natural curvature to the human breast both in thevertical and horizontal planes. Heretofore, it has been common toprovide curvature in the horizontal plane, but in the vertical planenatural curvature was lacking inasmuch as the lowermost portion of thecup was made up of a section of fabric forming a steep angle from thebody of the wearer upwardly toward the apex of the cup cone, therebytending to compress the lower portion of the human breast upwardly andto flatten it. Such flattening enabled the brassire to more easily slideupwardly over the breast and to make wearing extremely uncomfortable.The breast is normally flat at the top and curved at the bottom. Thisbrassire more nearly nts and supports such natural contour than thebrassires now known which tend to hatten the bottom portion also.

To assist in a snug fit for this particular brassire and to aid insupporting the human breast, each of the cup-like structures is providedat the bottom thereof with a semi-arcuate piece of fabric i adapted torest snugly against the chest of the wearer immediately beneath thecup-like structure for the breast. This piece of material, when thebrassire is worn, generally forms an angle of slightly more than 90 tothe lower strip 'l in the cup-like structure. ln brassires knownheretofore having such a support to rest against the human chest anangle much greater than 90 was formed with the lower strip of thebrassire cup, and in the brassires heretofore known it was quite cornmonthat no portion of the lower strip in the cup ever was in a positionbelow the uppermost point on the support piece. The angle formed atpoint la is about 90 or slightly larger and is substantially less than asimilar angle formed in known brassires. This very clearly demonstrateshow such a structure gives a cradle or shelf-like support to the breastrather than to compress it upwardly by means of the sharp angle rise inthe lowermost portion of the brassire cups heretofore known. Byproviding such a shelf-like structure it is possible to use a supportpiece to rest against the chest of the wearer relatively loosely whencompared to the support pieces used in well-known brassires. In order toprevent brassires from slipping upwardly hertofore, it has beennecessary to use a support piece which, instead of resting snuglyagainst the chest of the wearer, fit so tightly that they commonly leftmarks on the wearers chest directly beneath the breast. This causedconsiderable discomfort to the wearer. The improved structure shownherein eliminates both that discomfort and in addition thereto, providesa natural cradling and shaping for the human breast which has not beenknown in previous brassires.

T.n order to provide a brassire having the maximum comfort to the wearerand which is adjustable in lseveral directions with movement of thehuman body, this brassire is provided with an elastic fabric junctionbetween each of the brassire cups. This junction is generally designatedat 3. Though this junction may be in one or more strips and of varioustypes of elastic fabric, it is shown herein for purposes of disclosureonly as a single piece having a wide base I2 and a pointed top i3.

The brassire as is shown in the perspective of Fig. l is provided at allseams with strips oi' bias tape. The bias tape not only affords a strongjoint between separate strips of fabric, but it also adds to the overallstrength of the brassire proper. The brassire is also provided with thecustomary shoulder straps i4.

The brassire isalso provided with the curtomary fastening device (notshown), a part of which is located at the end of each strap and which isadapted to be fastened near the middle of the back of the wearer.

t seems apparent from the foregoing description that I have perfected avastly improved brassire having a shelf-like or cradle-like sup port inthe lower portion of the brassire cup for providing a support for thehuman breast rather than a cup-like structure which compresses thebreast and causes the lower portion of the breast to be flattened. 'Thecup formed of a conformable fabric is constructed in a relatively simpleand economic manner with a minimum of materials utilized. The novelfeature of providing a shelf in the lowermost portion of the cupeliminates the possibility that the brassire will slip upwardly easilyover the breast. lt also makes it possible to eliminate an extremelytight support structure which i-lts snugly against the chest immediatelybeneath the breast thereby adding to the comfort of the wearer.

I claim:

l. In a brassire, means forming a pair of breast cups, said cups beingmade of conformable fabric with each cup being formed of an upper stripand a lower strip joined together along substantially the horizontalcenter line of the cup, said lower strip when laid flat comprising alength of conformable material being curved at its top and having abottom edge the central portion of which extends substantially linearlyap proximately half the length of the strip and the adjoining portionsof which extend upwardly toward the curved top at an acute angle fromthe central portion to the end of the bottom edge, and said lower striphaving a plurality of inverted V-shaped tucks along the bottom portionnear the juncture between said central portion and the adjoiningportions with said tucks eX- tending upwardly toward the curved topportion of the lower strip and terminating at a point below the centerof the cup to form a substantially linear bottom edge on the lower stripextending from end to end thereof and to develop a conveX contour in thelower strip to provide a cradlelike support for the human breast and toprevent the brassire from slipping upwardly over the breast.

2. In a brassire, a breast supporting lower portion of a brassire cupcomprising a piece of conformable material formed into a strip having aconvexly curved top edge and a bottom edge having a central linearportion and two adjacent portions extending from the central portionupwardly at an angle toward the top edge, said bottom edge beingshortened by two inverted V-shaped sections the base of each of which isapproximately at the juncture of the central portion and one of theadjacent portions with said sections extending upwardly to terminate inan apex below said top edge to provide on said strip a substantiallylinear bottom edge extending from end to end thereof.

3. In a brassire, means forming a pair of breast cups, said cups beingmade of conformable fabric adapted to closely overlie the breasts of thewearer, each cup of said pair being formed of an upper and lower pieceof conformable fabric joined together along substantially the horizontalcenter line of the cup, said lower piece having a substantiallylinear-flower edge portion shortened by an inverted V-shaped sectionextending upwardly from said linear portion with the apex of saidsection being located below the juncture of said upper and lower piecesto form in the lowermost portion of the cup a cradle-likeV structure toconform with and support the breast and to prevent the brassire fromslipping upwardly over the breast.

4. In a brassire, means forming a pair of breast cups, said cups beingmade of conformable fabric adapted to closely overlie the breasts of thewearer, an elastic fabric between said pair of cups and a piece offabric having an arcuate upper edge secured to the lower edge of eachcup and adapted to rest snugly against the chest of the wearer, said cupbeing formed with a cradlelike support in the lowermost portion of saidcup,

said lowermost portion having a substantially linear lower edge portionprovided with inverted V-shaped tucks or darts extending upwardly fromsaid edge portion each terminating at its apex below the central portionof the cup to provide a generally rounded contour in the vertical plane.

5. In a brassire, means forming a pair of breast cups, said cups beingmade of conformable fabric adapted to closely overlie the breasts of thewearer, an elastic fabric between said pair of cups, a piece of fabrichaving an arcuate upper edge secured to the lower edge of each cup andadapted to rest snugly against the chest of the wearer, said cups beingformed of an upper and lower piece of fabric connected together atapproximately the horizontal center line of the cup by bia-s tape, theupper piece comprising conformable fabric and the lower piece comprisingan elongated strip of conformable material having a substantially linearlower edge portion provided with a plurality of inverted V-shaped tuckstherein, said tucks extending upwardly to a point slightly below thejuncture of the upper and lower pieces of fabric to form a cradle-likesupport in the lower portion of each cup for supporting the breast andto prevent the brassire from slipping upwardly over the breast.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

